Auxiliary units for operating power plants



Oct. 12, 1937. G. B. WARREN AUXILIARY UNITS FOR OPERATING PQWER PLANTS Fi 1ed Aug. 24, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheec 1 Oct. 12, 1937.

G. B. WARREN AUXILIARY UNITS FOR OPERATING POWER PLANTS Filed Aug. 24, 1935 2 Shet-Sheet 2 BDIL ER F550 PUMP.

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56 Aux. TU/PB/ME' FUEL PUMP L.) 1 J8 T T T U L; Au /yam a I; PUMA MAI/V BOILER TURB/A/E k M X ("GA/05466? n Aux. g9

Inventor:

Glenn BANarren,

Patented Oct. 12, 1937 AUXILIARY UNITS FOR OPERATING; POWER PLANTS Glenn B. Warren, Schenectady, N. Y., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application August 24, 1935, Serial No. 37,704

1 Claim.

The present invention relates to auxiliary units for operating power plants and has for its object an improved construction and arrangement of such auxiliary units whereby a plurality of auxiliaries, such as blowers, pumps, and like appliances or accessories, are driven by a single motor or prime mover and united with such prime mover to form a unitary, compact structur which can be easily installed and transported as a whole.

For a consideration of what I believe to be novel and my invention, attention is directed to the following description and the claim appended thereto in connection with the accompanying drawings. 1

In the drawings Fig. 1 represents a perspective view of an auxiliary unit embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of certain elements 01 Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 are diagrammatic views-illustrating the auxiliary unit in combination with a boiler and other elements of a power plant; and Fig. 5 is a detail view of Fig. 1.

The arrangement shown diagrammatically in V Fig. 3 comprises an auxiliary unit lil'for operr by the auxiliary turbine.

to force fuel into the furnace.

ating a power-plant including a boiler' l I, a main turbine l2, means including a gear I3 driven by the main turbine and a condenser M for the turbine. The auxiliary unit includes a motoror auxiliary turbine I 5, a blower It, a fuel pump IT, a boiler feed pump l8 and a-lubricating pump IS. The blower and all the pumps are driven The latter receives elastic fluid through a conduit 20 having a branch 2| including a valve connected to the boiler and another branch .22 including another valve connected .to an intermediate stage'23 of the main turbine l2. The elastic fluid discharged from the auxiliary turbine is conducted by a conduit 24 to the condenser l4, which latter also receives the exhaust from the main turbine through a conduit 25. The inlet of the main turbine is connected to the boiler II by a conduit 26 including a valve 21. The blower has an inlet opening 28 for receiving air and is connected to an outlet conduit 29 for conducting air to the furnace of the boiler II. The fuel pump is connected to the furnace by a conduit 30 and serves The blower and the fuel pump together represent a means for conducting combustible material and air to the furnace. The boiler feed pump I8 is connected to the condenser by a conduit 3| and to the boiler by a conduit 32. During operation the boiler feed pump feeds the condensate from the condenser into the boiler. Broadly, the boiler feed (Cl. lli3-6) pump represents a means for conducting operating fluid to the boiler. The lubricating pump it has an inlet' 33 for receiving lubricant and an outlet it connected by pipes 35, t6 and3l to bearings'tt of the auxiliaries and bearings 3d of the main turbine. uring operation, the lubricating pump forces ubricant to the different bearings. g

In accordance with my invention the aujxiL- iaries, that is, the blower, the pumps andthe prime mover for driving them are united to form a single structure which can be easily transported as a compact unit and readily assembled together with other elements of a power plant. This feature of compactness is diagrammatically indicated in Fig. 4, showing the auxiliary unit it placed adjacent the boiler ii and connected thereto by the three conduits, 29:, 3d, and 32 for conducting air, fuel and operating fluid respectively to the boiler.

The structural arrangement of the auxiliary iii;

unit, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2,'comprises a gearing having a casing 40 with a cover 4| secured thereto by bolts 42. A plurality of shafts, in the present instance a first shaft 43, a second shaft 44 and a third shaft 45, are supported by the casing 40. These shafts are connected by speed reducing gearings 46 and 41 respectively. The auxiliary turbine I5 has a wheel 48 secured to an overhung. portion of the first shaft 43. By an "overhung portion of a shaft is meant a portion, the free end of which is not supported by a bearing. The casing of the turbine is secured to the gearing casing 40 by means of bolts 49. Theturbine casing includes a. valve chest 50 including valves and conduits 2| and 22 for conducting elastic fluid from an intermediate stage of a main turbine and from a boiler or elastic fluid generator respectively. The turbine exhausts into the conduit 24. The valves contained in the chest 50 may be controlled by means including a lever 5|.

The blower I6 is of the centrifugal type and includes an impeller 52 secured to an overhung portionof the secondshaft 44 facing away from the turbine wheel. The impeller 52 is contained within a casing 53 forming an inlet conduit 54 with the opening-28 and a scroll with a. flanged outlet opening 55. During operation, air is forced into the inlet conduit 54 by the action of the impeller and is discharged through the flanged outlet opening 55. The casing 53 of the blower is secured to a flange of the gearing cover II by means of bolts 56.

In cases, as in the present instance, where the auxiliarymnit is'driven by an elastic fluid turbine receiving elastic fluid from the main boiler, means must be provided for starting the boiler, that is, for supplying air to the furnace thereof before the main blower can be operated. The starting I means in accordance with my invention comprises held on a support 59 welded to the casing 53 of the main blower IS. The scroll has an opening 60 (Fig. near the flanged outlet opening 55' and the fan 51 is arranged to force air through the opening til in the direction of the flanged outlet opening 55, that is, along the. path defined by the outlet portion of the scroll. A funnel or nozzle 61 is disposed adjacent the fan to increase'the pressure of air forced towards the opening 60 during operation of the fan 51. The nozzle Si is secured to a lateral extension 62 of the main blower casing 53. Assta'ted before, the auxiliary blower represents a means for starting a boiler before the turbine driven main blower can be operated. During normal operation of the main blower the discharge of air from the scroll through the opening Bil is-prevented by means including a valve member Gia for closing the compression nozzle 6|.

The third shaft 45 is driven from the second shaft through the reducing gearing 4'! and indirectly from the first shaft 43 through the double reduction gearings 46 and 41. The righthand portion of the shaft 45'is overhung and connected to a crank shaft'63 which forms a part of the feed pump l8, Ina preferred embodiment, as shown in the present instance, the crank shaft 63 and the shaft 45 form a single integral element contained in an extension 64 of the gearing casing 40. The other elements of the feed pump are supported on the extension 64 and secured thereto by means of bolts 65. The pump has a cover 66 forming openings for receiving the inlet or suction conduit 3| and the outlet or discharge conduit 32. Other features of the boiler feed pump are more fully disclosed in the application of John H. Doran, Serial No. 30,085, filed July 6, 1935 and assigned to the same assignee.-

The fuel pump I1 and the lubricating pump l9 are driven from a vertical shaft 61 connected to the free end of the horizontally disposed crank shaft 63 by a helical gearing 68. The gearing 68 structure transportable tension 64 of the gearing casing 40 and'provided with a removable end plate in. The lubricating pump has a casing ll welded to the extension 64 of the gearing casing and including a removable cover or end plate I2 with the discharge conduit. 34. The inlet conduit 33 for they lubricating pump is disposed within the extension 64 so that during operation of the auxiliary unit,

oil or like lubricant contained in the gearing casing is circulated by the lubricating pump to the different bearings of the auxiliaries and other apparatus, whence the lubricant may be re-- turned to the gearing casing by conduit main (not let conduit and the discharge conduit 30. The

casing 14 is fastened to brackets I6 by means of bolts H, the brackets being welded to the cylinder jacket of the boiler feed pump i8. I

With my invention I have accomplished an improved construction and arrangement of auxiliary units for operating power plants. The unit forms a single, compact structure which can be easily transported when assembled and readily put in operation in connection with other elements of a power plant. All of the auxiliaries, that is, the blower and the pumps, are driven by a prime mover through the intermediary of a gearing which has a fabricated or welded casing supporting the different drive shafts and also supporting at least partly the casings of the various auxiliaries.

Having described the method of operation of .my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

An auxiliary unit for operating a power plant including a gearing having a casing and a first, a second and a third shaft supported \onthe casing and having overhung portions, reducing gearing means connecting the shafts, a motor having a rotor secured to the overhung portion of the first shaft, a .blower having an impeller secured to the overhung portion of the second shaft, and a boiler feed pump driven from the overhung portion of the third shaft, all of the aforesaid elements being united to form a single as a unit. 3

GLENN B. WARREN. 

